Outsiders
by Terry-Cragen
Summary: What's Fords doing in the desert? How did this soul go blind? Why is Jeb acting so strangely? As Wanda goes through the trials of motherhood is she really ready to do anything for her growing family?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I have begun my new fic! No, this does not mean I've put off the Twilight fic completely. After rereading what I've done with that one, however, I realize I screwed up at some point and now must fix my rather GRAND mistake...You may or may not spot a chapter in between a chapter that wasn't there before...If that makes any sense. Now! This is a simple fic, nothing fancy. Just story, think of it as a small sequel. It took me 5 tries to get it just right. I have not planned this, not completely anyway. And when I say it took 5 tries I mean I started out with 5 other intro chapters to make it just right for me to use. Sort of like building the perfect diving board. If I just used any piece of plywood I would have broken something. As it stands, I think i can stand to do a more or less good cannon ball. Hope to get some feedback! Cheers 3

Fords Deep Water's didn't know what had brought him here, unsure of himself even as he stared out at the open desert. It had been quite a while now since he'd seen her, been a shorter while since he'd heard of the seeker that had been causing trouble for his patient and him in the form of rather rampant headaches. He found it most curious how both of them disappeared in the same place. Of course he was no fool as to voice this matter himself. He was not an old man by any means, though he was an old soul, having only gone to two planets in his lifetime besides Earth. He'd done many terms on the Fire World and only half as much with the Bears. Here, though, is where he truly enjoyed his life. As a Healer he helped and saw many people. He'd delivered human babies and never once thought to ask if the child would be given as a new host for another soul. He knew automatically that these new mothers would never dream of sacrificing these young babes this way. Their young children.

This did not answer his question, though. Why was he here? Why was he suddenly in doubt of himself.

_Because you doubt yourself so easily, Fords…_

That little voice. That tiny voice in the back of his mind he could never place. It was obviously a female voice, but one he did not recognize as he was in a male body and this body had indeed had children but they were grown and far gone now. The new souls never seeking to want to be with their biological father. No, this voice didn't belong to a voice either soul or body knew. So who was it?

…

……

……

……

…

Meanwhile, beneath his feet, more or less depending on if you want to be dangerously specific, Melanie was helping Wanda knead the dough. The latter pair was much stronger now. Her once frail body had been put through its paces and though she still looked as frail as ever she didn't betray that strength of body. This sudden strength came from becoming a mother not long after reawakening in this place after she'd set Melanie free. There'd been a whole controversy over the whole matter that nearly drove a huge wedge through the caves and even the other rebel groups that they'd begun to keep contact with through short wave radios that the groups had managed to acquire through small raiding parties of their own.

Melanie and Jared had not been given the miracle that Ian and Wanda shared in the 5 years since they'd officially been reunited. They were careful, though Melanie truly wished to be a mother, she understood they couldn't, not yet. With three young children in the caves, what with Jaime being nearly 20 himself and Isaiah growing into a healthy and robust teenager, a new baby would just burden the caves. They were running out of space now as it was seeing as they found more humans on one of their usual raids.

These humans had a soul of their own, but she was an anomaly. A blind and mute girl only about 16 who always clung tightly to a rather big, dark skinned man who always seemed to glare at Wanda whenever she was in glaring distance. She had no idea what she'd done to deserve this mans ire, but there it was.

The group they'd found was small, only five, and they were seasoned survivors. Before the invasion they'd been living off the land for quite a while already, so nothing really changed for them except it was more of a necessity rather than a fun hobby on the weekends. They had discovered the man and girl themselves, and then adopted them when they realized how the man had been surviving with her for so long. She had her sight and voice at the time. Though no one explained what made her lose both, it was a very fun topic to discuss though never in front of the group. They stuck close together, never doing chores without one another.

Currently the girl was not far away, managing to carefully mold the dough into small rolls to place into the oven, placing them so carefully and at such a perfect distance apart from each other Wanda would never guess she were blind. Melanie caught Wanda staring and looked over as well. As they watched the young girl she turned her head upwards and towards them. Her dark hair fell over her face, hiding one of her eyes as she gazed towards them. Releasing a raspy whimper, she shrunk back slightly, simply sensing she was being stared at.

"S-sorry!" Melanie whispered, tugging her sister's arm to go back to their chore. Out in the game room Wanda knew Ian was with their daughter, Isaiah, and Freedom, playing soccer or hide and seek. They only played hide and seek in specific parts of the caves, knowing without speaking aloud what could happen if their curious girl got lost and fell down some godforsaken hole.

When the girl's guardian returned for her he glared at Wanda a moment before placing his arm around the small girl, keeping her close as they departed, her task having been finished. She'd return when the rolls were ready.

"Geez, what's his problem?" Melanie grumbled, grunting slightly as she stated to mold the dough for their own batch of rolls for the oven. Wanda smiled lightly and shook her head.

"Not sure, but…I don't mind, for some reason. It doesn't bother me…" Wanda replied, fixing the shapes of Mel's dough balls herself before replacing them on the tray. Melanie rolled her eyes and shrugged.

"You're weird ya know, that?" She said it with a slight smile, so Wanda knew she was joking.

"Doesn't seem to keep you away, though." She replied, a smile gracing her own face before turning back to the task at hand.

A/N: Feedback please? An author needs it to survive! Anything at all as long as it's constructive or if you just wanna say how much you love me :D


	2. Chapter 2

If only Fords knew where he was, maybe dying out here wouldn't feel so bad. Like knowing why your murderer took your life. The sun was hot, he'd removed several articles of clothing, leaving him in only the most basic of clothes. Shirt, pants, and shoes. Someone would surely spot these lost clothes and understand he somehow went out of his mind. As he collapsed onto the dirty, hot ground, a shadow passed over him. Buzzards, of course, this truly was the end then, wasn't it?

_You're always so negative, Fords Deep Water's…so unlike your brethren._

"_So you're saying I brought this on myself…I suppose I did, listening to you." He didn't hear a reply, which didn't make him feel good at all, because it meant that not even disembodied voices wanted to keep him company on his deathbed. _

_The last thing he saw before blacking out was a tall, thin body looking down at him, flanked by two others. His vision was barely focused, but even he could recognize death. Without another thought, he was out like a light. _

* * *

_Link set up the bowls for her friends, those she'd arrived with months ago. She was blind, it was obvious when she would sometimes walk into walls if no one was watching her, and when she'd sometimes burn herself when baking. These events happened rarely considering her condition, but more often than with someone else in the caves who could see. _

_She doted on her companions, despite being the weakest of them all in almost every way possible. Despite her setbacks such as her sightlessness and silence, she was still an asset, though no one could honestly see how, the group took care of each other, especially the weakest of their entourage. Maxine kept her eyes out and acted as Link's mother, and the four other men took obvious big-brother roles, especially the ever present Samuel. _

_Samuel was a large, naturally dark skinned man who was rather intimidating and could probably take even Jared on without breaking a sweat. He'd been with Link before he'd found Maxine, Patrick, and Alex. Link had her sight then, but not long before Wanda's group discovered them had Link lost her sight. Since that time she'd also refused to speak of the incident, or of anything at all. Samuel was cordial enough, never really striking up conversation, but always responding when spoken to in order to be polite. He was often on guard, as were the rest of the group, but at least the others were a little more friendly and tried to get to know their new cave-mates. _

_Link was bringing food to a long table, moving carefully and slow so as not to trip. Once she was successfully at the table she set out the food and returned the tray quickly before running right back to the table she'd picked and waited. Her friends were still out in the fields, or on their way back, but as she waited she still drew stares. _

_Amy smiled at the blind girl, dismissing her uncle's call and went to sit beside Link to strike up conversation. Her doting mother looked on curiously as she served up food, watching her young daughter become so close to someone everyone just felt to avoid. Wanda didn't openly avoid Link, but no one felt comfortable because she never seemed to feel comfortable around so many people without Samuel there. Wanda smiled though when Link seemed to respond to Amy, and knew things would be fine as long as everyone just kept things the way they were and eventually everything would feel better. _

_Ian had run out just before lunch, promising to be back soon. Jeb had called them all up for some reason but Wanda knew it wasn't serious. She'd been included in some raiding issues so she knew it couldn't be that the needed to go on another trip, they had more than enough for about four months more so there shouldn't be too much trouble there. _

_Once Wanda finished her shift and went to join Melanie the murmurs started. She hadn't seen Andy return, so didn't notice his pants were a little dirty with dust like he'd been walking a bit. When Wanda heard her name she stood up, going towards the voice, seeing Ian waiting and looking a little worried. Melanie had followed her, sticking close whenever someone of her family was involved. _

"_What's going on, Ian?" Ian looked at her a moment and then nodded down the south tunnel. _

"_Come on, this way." Wanda never liked it when Ian didn't say anything outright. She shook her head before checking to see that her daughter was alright. She was, sitting between Samuel and Link and playing patty cake with the blind girl. Satisfied, she turned back around and walked with her sister and husband to the hospital wing. _

* * *

"_He had ID on him." _

"_He's someone important." _

"_How'd he get out here?" _

"_Right at our front step too, no twists and turns…" This one was Jeb, they were sure. Melanie walked in and both she and Wanda gasped at the face they saw on the cot. _

"_She knows him, apparently." Jeb nodded to the cot. "You know him?" Wanda nodded, turning to Melanie who looked back. _

"_Y-Yes…he was our healer. He placed me in Mel's body…Made sure she was healed after the…accident. His name is Fords Deep Waters…" _

"_I wonder what he's doing here…" Melanie mumbled, taking a few steps closer with Wanda close by. _

"_You don't think maybe his host is--" Doc began, but stopped when Wanda shook her head. _

"_No, I'm sure…he was one of the first insurgents. Did you give him anything yet?" Doc shook his head, holding the bottle of water in one hand and the Wake in the other. _

"_Not yet, we wondered if you'd like to be here, since the last time someone came here on their own they were looking for you." Wanda didn't know what to feel at that comment so just nodded, holding her hand out for the supplies. _

"_If you don't mind, I think I should wake him myself…I don't know how he'll react to you all. Maybe just stand right outside, he won't hurt me." Melanie placed her hand on Wanda's arm and nodded. _

"_I'll stay here, he'll recognize me." She smiled lightly at the slight irony at that and so did Wanda. Ian was going to protest but Wanda silenced him with a look that told him not to worry and watched Jeb lead the other protesters out of the room. Once they were gone, Wanda set about her task to awaken this Healer who really shouldn't have known to come here at all. _


End file.
